Hail to the Chief of the Redskins

Hail, hail, the now-Way Over the Hill Gang was mostly all here Saturday to witness the induction ceremony for George Allen, the Washington Redskins’ and Los Angeles Rams’ quirky, consumed and singularly focused former head coach.

Allen was enshrined posthumously in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on a steamy afternoon that his son, echoing his late father, described as “a great day to be alive.”

Close to 18,000 streamed into Fawcett Stadium just behind the Hall to hear Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) accept the game’s ultimate honor for his father, who died of a heart attack in 1990 at 72. Allen never had a losing season in 14 years as a professional head coach and dramatically changed the Redskins’ fortunes during his tenure from 1971 to ‘77, including the first Super Bowl team in 1972.

Billy Kilmer, the still furnace-faced quarterback of that memorable era, was here, and so was John Riggins, celebrating the 10th anniversary of his own induction in the Hall in 1992 and back for the first time since he was enshrined.

Redskin Hall of Famers Bobby Mitchell, Charley Taylor and Ken Houston were here, among more than 30 former Allen players and coaches from the Rams and Redskins, including Jack Pardee, Marv Levy, Ted Marchibroda, Ray Schoenke, Merlin Olsen, Brig Owens, John Wilber, Mark Moseley, Eddie Brown, Bob Kuziel, Dan Ryczek, Dallas Hickman and Mike Bragg.

There was plenty of cheering during the ceremony, not only for Allen, but for four other inductees.

Former Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly drew the loudest, mainly because he invited 1,200 of his closest friends, many wearing his Bill jersey.

Also warmly received were Oakland tight end Dave “The Ghost” Casper, introduced by John Madden; Pittsburgh wide receiver John Stallworth, presented by his son, John Jr., and Chicago defensive lineman Dan Hampton, presented by former Bear Ed O’Bradovich.

Kelly was introduced by his coach, former Allen special teams coach Levy.

The emotional highlight came at the end of Kelly’s 17-minute speech, when he spoke about his 5-year-old son Hunter, diagnosed at four months with Krabbes Disease, a fatal, inherited degenerative disorder of the central and peripheral nervous system.

The child was not expected to live past 2 and requires 24-hour care, and Kelly said, “I’ve prayed every day of my life that he would be here today. God has granted me that blessing.

“It’s been said all throughout my career that toughness was my trademark. The toughest person I’ve ever met in my life is my hero, my soldier, my son, Hunter.”

None of the inductees broke down on the podium, although the voice of the usually stoic Casper wavered.

“I was 10 years old in Elgin [Illinois] when I saw some kids playing football,” Casper said. “My mom asked, ‘Why didn’t you go play with them?’

“I didn’t think they wanted me to,” Casper responded, praising his mother, Dorothy, for encouraging him.

Deacon Jones, who played for Allen on the Rams and for a season in Washington at the end of his career, introduced his old coach with a passionately delivered oration.

Jones said Allen’s success was based on “teamwork, hard work and competitive spirit.... He was the ultimate player’s coach.... I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.... He taught us the harder we worked, the luckier we got, and boy did we get lucky.”